2025 DCC Award Winner
the NOW, Largo Concrete, Inc., West Hollywood, CA
First Place: Vertical/Facades, Over 5,000 sqft

At the corner of La Cienega and Sunset Blvd. along the iconic Sunset Strip, the NOW is a 79,214 SF high-end commercial development highlighted by exposed architectural white concrete. The building features three levels of below-grade parking and four levels of leasable space. A two-tier retaining wall was built on the north side to maximize space, but tight site and limited laydown area at this busy intersection posed logistical challenges. Planning of equipment and ready-mix deliveries, along with strategic material storage and access routes, enabled efficient operations.

The two lowest parking levels are accessed by vehicular elevators and are the only two decks with identical elevations. The remaining floors vary in height from 10’-11¾” to 22’-6”. The upper three levels cantilever toward Sunset Blvd., with levels two and three spanning 17’-5” from column edge. Both decks terminate at a 5’6” tall beam, which turns down on level two and up at level three to create a parapet wall for the patio area.

Perimeter elements feature a 2'x2' tie pattern, with vertical seams every 8’ and horizontal seams every 4’. QC worked with field teams to maintain architectural formwork integrity through cleaning and moisture-check procedures.

The most striking architectural feature is a “louvered”, wave effect on the second level patio. These columns are 1’ wide and 2‘10” inches apart. The first eight columns from the west taper off from 3 feet 9 inches, 13 feet above the deck, down to 2 feet deep where the column meets the second level deck.

The next 17 columns are stub columns suspended from the perimeter upturn beam above. These stub columns shrink in height as they move across the building, starting at 8 feet tall and ending at 3 feet from the bottom of the beam. Embeds at the top of each column are connected to steel beams with their own unique pattern which span across the space creating an undulating effect.

Catalina Pacific supplied a 6,000 PSI white cement mix. Largo placed 7,250 CY over 15 months with 65,000 manhours and zero recordable incidents.

Submission Guidelines

Each submittal must include a 100-300 word clarification statement, which should enable the judges to understand the overall scope and other facets of the project which made it particularly difficult or challenging.

The clarification statement should cover the complexity and uniqueness of the project and might include such information as:

· Project design

· Economy and craftsmanship

· Degree of difficulty of layout and installation

· Site compatibility

· Ecological and environmental factors

· Problem solving Testimonials from other project participants (e.g. owner, GC, A/E) are welcome but not necessary.

Photo Requirements

• Professional photography is strongly recommended.

• All photos should be taken from a marketing perspective.

• A minimum of three and a maximum of six photographs shall be submitted for each project.

• The photos should provide the necessary insight into the project’s ability to address the judging criteria.

• While photos showing the overall project can be helpful in defining scope and scale, close-ups of areas are often better for illustrating fine craftsmanship.

• Each photo must be at least 5” x 7” at 300 dpi.

• Pictures taken at the highest resolution possible are in your best interest.